Crime: Violence

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the trends in violent crime in the past 15 years.

Baroness Neville-Jones: There are two main sources of official statistics on trends in crime; the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime. Both sets of statistics have different strengths and weaknesses and provide an incomplete picture.
	Statistics on the number of incidents of violent crime from the two sources are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	It is important that crime statistics are robust and trustworthy so that the public can have faith and confidence in them and this is why we are reviewing how crime statistics should be collected and published in the future.

Energy: Tariffs

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce minimum standards for energy tariffs as part of the requirement that energy bills inform customers of the cheapest tariff available from their current supplier in the upcoming Energy, Security and Green Economy Bill.

Lord Marland: Providing customers with information about their supplier's cheapest tariff is about giving them the information they need to take control of their household energy costs. We are working on the details of this proposal but we are clear that cheapest tariff information needs to be presented in a straightforward and meaningful way to consumers.
	Ofgem has recently introduced new overarching standards to prevent the selling of products that are inappropriate to a customer's needs or offer products that are unnecessarily complex or confusing.
	In a recent open letter to suppliers, Ofgem reminded suppliers of their obligations under these standards. A copy of this letter is available online at http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/ensuppro/Documentsl/Open_letter%20on%20transparency.pdf.

Energy: Tariffs

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that the price of a tariff is guaranteed for as long as it takes to complete a switch, as part of the requirement that energy bills inform customers of the cheapest tariff available from their current supplier in the upcoming Energy, Security and Green Economy Bill.

Lord Marland: Providing customers with information about their supplier's cheapest tariff is about giving people the information they need to take control of their household energy costs.
	If a customer agrees a contract for a fixed-rate tariff then, subject to the terms and conditions of this tariff, they will be guaranteed the agreed price upon completion of the switching process.
	If a customer agrees a contract for a variable tariff then the price of that tariff may change during the switching process, subject to the terms and conditions of that tariff. In these circumstances, consumers have the right to transfer to a different tariff or supplier without having to pay the increased charges, providing they inform their supplier within 20 working days of receiving the notification of a price change.

Immigration

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have benefited from the Global Calais Project; and what is the total amount of money provided to returnees.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Global Calais Project was established in February 2009. Since then, 154 people have so far benefited from receiving reintegration assistance in their countries of origin.
	No cash is given to migrants under the project. Reintegration assistance is provided in-kind, through vocational training, business set-ups, education or job placements and is worth up to €4,000. It is administered by the International Organisation for Migration. Up until the end of September 2010, £344,107 of reintegration assistance has been provided under the project.

Northern Ireland: Security

Lord Eames: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The threat level in Northern Ireland remains at severe, meaning terrorist attacks are highly likely. So far this year there have been 37 attacks. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the local Justice Minister and the chief constable are all working extremely closely to combat the dissident threat and the security forces continue to exert pressure and pursue these terrorist groupings. PSNI has many more police officers back on the street and is continuing to invest in the right capability and technology to tackle the threat. So far this year there have been 167 arrests and 58 persons charged with terrorist offences. This compares to 106 arrests and 17 charges in the whole of 2009.

Papal Visit

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the previous three state visits by Heads of State to the United Kingdom prior to the state visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

Lord Howell of Guildford: This information is not held centrally in the form requested and is only available at disproportionate cost.
	The full cost of inward state visits are borne by a number of different agencies. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays Buckingham Palace for some aspects of inward state visits including hotel accommodation and transport for the official delegation, staffing costs and the cost of the state banquets. There are a number of other costs covered by other agencies, including policing and ceremonial costs. The cost of the papal visit is not comparable to that of inward state visits.

Passports

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many personal passport interviews took place in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, and (c) the first six months of 2010.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Personal passport interviews are conducted through the interview office network of the Identity and Passport Service. The recorded number of personal passport interviews undertaken in 2008 was 286,444. In 2009 there were 291,190 and from January to June 2010, 163,982 interviews have taken place.

Passports

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for passports were rejected following personal interviews in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, and (c) the first six months of 2010.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Identity interviews were added to the passport process primarily to address first time application fraud through deterrence and fraud detection arising from a personal interview.
	In 2008 one application was refused as a direct result of a confirmation of identity interview. In 2009 two applications were refused as a result of this process and a further two were refused up to the end of August 2010. In addition to the five instances of confirmed fraud mentioned above, applications have also been withdrawn when customers are advised that an identity interview is required. From September 2007 to August 2010, 3,153 applications were withdrawn at this stage. Together this information underlines the usefulness of the interview as a deterrent to those attempting to make a fraudulent passport application. Notwithstanding this IPS is currently reviewing its interview processes to improve on fraud prevention and deterrence.

People Trafficking

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will opt in to the European Union Directive intended to co-ordinate European efforts to combat human trafficking for sexual purposes.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government decided not to opt in to the directive at the outset, but to review the position once the directive has been agreed. We still have the option of applying to opt in at a later stage.

Police Commissioners

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have received to their proposals for elected police commissioners.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Formal consultation on the proposals to introduce directly elected police and crime commissioners ended on 20 September. Responses have been submitted by a range of key policing stakeholders and individuals and these will now be considered before the publication of the Government response later this year.

Prisoners: Release

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the case of a prisoner given an indeterminate sentence for public protection, they will treat the prisoner as if they had undergone any course specified, if they have reached their tariff but have not been able to do the course for reasons beyond their control.

Lord McNally: Once an indeterminate sentence prisoner's tariff has expired, it is for the independent Parole Board and not the Secretary of State to determine whether the prisoner should be released from custody into the community. The board will direct the release of a tariff-expired prisoner only if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the prisoner to be detained in custody.
	In making its determination, the Parole Board takes into account a wide range of factors, of which attendance on accredited programmes or courses is just one. Other factors include the behaviour and attitudes exhibited by the offender whilst in custody, his progress in respect of education and training, as well as his response to any other interventions.
	Ultimately, it is for the prisoner to demonstrate to the Parole Board that his risk of harm has been reduced to the extent where he may be safely managed in the community.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's diamond jubilee in 2012.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Government have put in place the necessary arrangements to create a special four-day Jubilee weekend over the first week in June in 2012. This will allow communities to come together to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Although planning for the Diamond Jubilee is still at an early stage, we are considering a number of ideas and working closely with Royal Household colleagues who are developing a programme of events for 2012. Further details are available at www.culture.gov.uk/diamondjubilee.

Roads: Congestion

Lord Lea of Crondall: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they are undertaking into the cost to the economy of road traffic congestion due to the school run compared with 20 years ago.

Earl Attlee: There is currently no research being undertaken into the cost to the economy of road traffic congestion due to the school run.

Roads: Maintenance

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the progress made with the road works in South Kensington around the museums and along the Brompton Road.

Earl Attlee: Local road works are a matter for the relevant local highway authority, which in this case would be either Transport for London or the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Taxation: Corporate Tax

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their position regarding the United Kingdom's participation in any scheme using the enhanced co-operation provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon to establish a common corporate tax.

Lord Sassoon: There is currently no proposal from the European Commission for the European Union to establish a common consolidated corporate tax base. The question of establishing one by enhanced co-operation is therefore not relevant at this time.

Vehicles: Automatic Plate Recognition

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that closed circuit television cameras installed in Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Washwood Heath and Kings Heath are removed following the independent review of their installation.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Project Champion, to which you refer, is an operational matter for West Midlands Police. Chris Sims, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, issued a statement on 30 September 2010 which included the following key points:
	the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, Sir Christopher Rose, has confirmed that no cameras associated with Project Champion have ever been used, and that all the covert cameras have been removed; andall the overt cameras are covered up and will remain so until their future has been determined, following work with a new project board which has strong community representation.
	In both the coalition agreement and the Queen's Speech the Government have made a commitment to re-examine the balance between civil liberties and national security and to ensure proportionality and necessity. This commitment includes a planned review of all counterterrorism legislation and measures, including the regulation of both CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.